Ford Focus RS starting abroad at £24,995
Click above for a high-res gallery of the Ford Focus RS
The 2009 Focus Rallye Sport has a price: £24,995 when it goes on sale in the UK in March. That will put you about £4,000 over a Focus ST3, but for that extra money you get a car that could be much closer to Ford's WRC competitor than it is to its ST3 sibling. The 300 horses and 325 ft-lbs is channeled through a six-speed manual to the front wheels, and a wider track joins beefier driveshafts, thicker anti-roll bars, tuned springs and uprated dampers.
The car comes with a bodykit that only an RS could wear, as well as things like heated door mirrors and windshield, xenon headlights, Recaros, and Ford's Easy Fill fueling system. Only a few options are available, the ritziest one being the Luxury Pack that will give you things like automatic climate control and rear parking sensors. Thankfully, based on how popular these cars are among the five-finger set, an alarm is also standard. You can check out the full release after the jump and the gallery of high-res photos below.
Gallery: 2009 Ford Focus RS (blue)
PRESS RELEASE
PRICES ANNOUNCED FOR 2009 FORD FOCUS RS
BRENTWOOD, Essex, 15 December, 2008 - Ford's fastest-ever European production car, the 2009 Focus RS, will be priced from £24,995 when it goes on sale in the UK in March.
The new Focus RS is the first Ford to wear the famous Rallye Sport badge since the first-generation Focus RS was launched seven years ago, and the 22nd since 1970.
RS denotes a distinctive blend of high performance, road-holding, refinement, safety and value for money, and reflects a proud tradition of successful motor sports involvement that continues to the present day.
Under the bonnet of the Ford Focus RS is a turbocharged 2.5-litre, five-cylinder Duratec petrol engine, with a confirmed 305PS and 440Nm peak torque. Features include unique camshafts and a revised cylinder head and gasket, intake and manifold system.
Front-wheel-driven through a six-speed transmission, the Focus RS accelerates from 0-62mph in under six seconds and has a targeted top speed of over 160mph.
A class-leading balance of traction, sports handling and performance is achieved through the combination of a Quaife Automatic Torque Biasing limited-slip differential and innovative RevoKnuckle front-suspension system.
These features are complemented by a wider track, enhanced drive-shafts and rear anti-roll bar, revised springs and dampers and retuned steering, while a specially developed version of Ford's Electronic Stability Programme (ESP) with Traction Assist (TA) provides added assurance.
Uprated disc brakes – 336mm ventilated front and 300mm rear – combine with an anti-lock braking system (ABS), electronic brake-force distribution (EBD) and Emergency Brake Assist (EBA) to supply a reassuringly high degree of stopping power.
Taking its place as the top-of-the-range Focus, the RS will be immediately distinguishable on the road, with its unique bonnet, front bumper and side skirts. Also unique to the model are its 19-inch alloy wheels, shod with 235/35 tyres.
The rear twin-bladed spoiler - the continuation of an RS tradition – and the power/heated door mirrors are also distinctive, with their high-gloss black finish.
Xenon headlights with automatic levelling and jet-wash are provided, with LED lights at the rear. Dual chrome tailpipes add a further sporting dash.
A Quickclear heated windscreen is fitted, and privacy glass for the rear. A Ford Easy Fill fuelling system removes any risk of costly mis-fuelling errors at the pump.
The driver and front passenger benefit from unique Recaro sports seats, with side bolsters trimmed to match the colour of the car – green for Ultimate Green models, blue for those finished in Performance Blue or Frozen White. Rear passengers are comfortably accommodated in a sculpted Recaro-style seat.
A manual air-conditioning system is provided, and in-car entertainment in the form of a Sony radio and six-disc CD player with DAB. A Ford Power button allows for keyless engine ignition, and a Thatcham Category 1 alarm is standard.
A £750 Luxury Pack includes the options of Dual-Zone Electronic Automatic Temperature Control (DEATC) air-conditioning; automatic headlights; rain-sensor wipers; auto-dim rear-view mirror; rear parking-distance sensors; tyre deflation-detection; and a Ford Key-Free system. The £1,500 version of the Luxury Pack adds in a Touchscreen DVD Navigation System, with seven-inch touch-screen.
Other optional extras include partially leather-trimmed seats at £500 and, for £200, Bluetooth® hands-free phone connectivity and USB port. Specifying a metallic version of the Performance Blue paintwork costs £395, while a Tri-Coat Metallic Ultimate Green finish carries a £695 price tag.
The standard price of the flagship Focus RS compares with £20,408 for the ST3, the existing top-of-the-range Focus.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
James 3:05PM (12/16/2008)
That's what . . . ~38k USD? Who wants it that bad now???
Reply
Nick 3:11PM (12/16/2008)
Look at the prices for any car in the UK, costs more. A base-model Honda Accord is almost $30k USD.
I only wish the American Focus looked that good.
ack154 3:15PM (12/16/2008)
First... you can't do a straight conversion. Just doesn't work like that.
Second, even if it were $36k, it would still be the only Ford I would even give a second look towards buying. And it would be a serious look at that.
dz 3:35PM (12/16/2008)
Its Called VAT!. You are only the elventy!!11!!!billionith!!11 person to bitch about UK to US monetary values when it comes to cars.
Their cars get the **** taxed out of them over there to a tune of 14-16% OVER the regular city/country taxes.
Please research before you post so you don't look like a tool.
jcar302 3:41PM (12/16/2008)
Ack is right, you can't do the straight conversion on cars.
I've tried it, and each car has conversion factor.
I like this car alot, would i drive it? No, but i'm happy to have it on the ford team to do battle against, cobalt SS's, srt4 neons and the rest of the 4 banger turbo cars.
Let's just hope it really puts the power to the ground.
With 300hp fairly lightweight (i hope), and supposidly curing most of the torque steer, this car should run easily mid/low 13's.
jv2k 3:56PM (12/16/2008)
Gotta love the European car market and their high prices.
Gregg 4:41PM (12/16/2008)
Here's how to think about it. To someone living in Britain, the exchange rate with the dollar is only meaningful if traveling or buying foreign goods. Otherwise, they see the pound as approximately the same as how we see our dollar, in terms of buying power. 24K pounds, based on their income, living expenses, etc. would be perceived roughly the same as we see 24K dollars. $24K from that point of view is not a bad price for such a car. That we can't have it for that is our problem, not theirs. Build it here with mostly American components, and that $38K we would have to pay for it (if you do the direct conversion) would come down considerably. Bottom line, no Brit says that the car costs him or her 38K. Only those of us doing simplistic conversions do.
Yaroukh 5:28PM (12/16/2008)
OMG where do these ppl keep coming from?
are there many of you left overthere?
why not the LS2LS7? 5:36PM (12/16/2008)
Gregg. Your argument falls flat given the pound has dropped 30% in the last 3 months. What you can cannot always be true given the fluctuating currency rates.
As to people saying cars aren't that expensive over there, they are wrong. You can say you can't just convert, but then look at the cars on the road. They are not buying Focus RSes, they are buying cheap, slow cars.
As to the idea that it's just VAT, go ahead and chop 14% off. It's still too expensive.
And it isn't particular close to Ford's rally car given that rally cars are AWD and this is FWD.
Dazza 6:54PM (12/16/2008)
It isn't accurate to use forex rate terms, especially during times when the USD is particularly weak - because by the same token, a Big Mac meal will cost you $9 and the minimum wage in Britain is almost $12/hour.
You have to use purchasing power parity to devise a rate based on real terms, i.e purchasing power of an individual in the UK. On that basis, taking account of differences in sales tax rates, etc, the Focus RS weighs in the equivalent of roughly $30K or so - a bargain considering the engineering involved in an RS model.
imoore 3:07PM (12/16/2008)
It's kinda sad to see a car like this and wish that it could have been offered here, and then be hit with the reality that there's no way that's going to happen, unless you want to buy one through the gray market at an insanely high price and with the fear that the Feds and Ford's legal thugs will come looking for you. Saying all that, please Autoblog don't tease us with eye candy like this. You know we can only look but not touch.
Reply
Mark K. 6:11PM (12/16/2008)
This car and Focus 1.6 TDCi are reasons I will not buy Ford vehicle here in US
Astra 1.7 CDTi is the reason I will not buy GM vehicle in US
Chrysler 300 CRD wagon is the reason I will not buy Chrysler vehicle in US
Honda Civic 2.2 i-CTDi (european design) is the reason I will not buy Honda vehicle in US
BMW 123d hatchback is the reason why I will not buy BMW vehicle in US
Audi A4 TDI sedan is the reason I will not buy Audi vehicle in US
And many more ...
It has nothing to do with patriotism, it has all to do with being treated as a brain dead idiot by all these companies. Fortunately, I didn't need to compromise and I did get the car here exactly as-is in Europe.
When I was buying 2 years ago there were exactly 2 vehicles that I would consider buying because they were exact same model and engine sold in Europe. Today, 2 years later, those are the same 2 "choices".
All things considered, if they don't wake up and start treating American customer as they treat customers elsewhere, my next car shopping might be done in Mexico or Canada.
Davin Black 3:08PM (12/16/2008)
Expensive, but quite likeable - as are most American cars sold abroad...
(Strange, that.)
300hp on a front-driver is nonsense, though; where's the 4WD ?
Reply
mmstowes 3:11PM (12/16/2008)
They didn't want the weight or complexity and supposedly, didn't need it with the REVO Knuckle. But if the new RS is anything like the ST or old RS, it's wishful thinking...
DZ 3:41PM (12/16/2008)
Their using a brand new Quaife Front Diff. No torque steer at all in their testing so they didn't think the extra weight was worth it. Supposedly keeps the car straight as hell under Launches and WOT pulls.
refugee7 3:49PM (12/16/2008)
Yea, agreed, torque steer?
I remember they had a article stating they limited it as much as possible but still damn that is a lot of power to the front wheels.
Alex 3:22PM (12/16/2008)
I would be so immensely happy if that came to the states.
Reply
Rogue_G 3:32PM (12/16/2008)
The wait for this car gets more painful as we go. Just bring it here already and market the damn thing! This is the penultimate example of why the Big 3 are where they today: why it is taking this long is beyond comprehension.
Reply
EndlessMike 5:40PM (12/16/2008)
We're NOT getting it. Stop waiting, because it's not happening. We'll get the brand new 2010 model with the rest of the world, however. Well, the base ones, at any rate. We'll see if we get any ST/RS models (doubtful considering the lack of sales of the 02-04 SVT and 05-07(?) ST).
FOREIGNER 5:39PM (12/23/2008)
nice car but civic cost only 17,000 because of no UAW , heh heh hheh
Reply